All's Fair in Love and War
by Andromeda DuPre
Summary: A love story between two unlikely lovers: a handsome young man who forgot everything and an energetic grocer who was interested from the start. Full of twists and turns, and, as comes with both love and war, heartbreak.
1. A Strange Visitor

Rosetta

Raguna had appeared one night out of nowhere. He wasn't there when I had gone to sleep last night, because I remember looking over at the house and wondering if anyone would live there again. The farmhouse had remained empty for years now, at least ten, and the fields were a tangled mess of stones, grass and weeds. The well was clogged with debris and the shipping bin stayed as empty and dirty as usual. The dirt road connecting the farm to the rest of the world was hardly traveled anymore, not even by Mist, who came into town to buy food when she couldn't grow it in her garden and visit the library. Mist, you could say, was well liked by most people of Kardia-except by me. There was something about her that just ticked me off, whether it was her airy way of speaking or the way that she was always hinting that she knew something everyone else didn't. But I tolerated her for the sake of the store.

Mist was in the store with this young man this morning, talking to Dad. I had never seen him before, so I went over and introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Rosetta." I said confidently, expertly ignoring Lukas, who was staring at me from his usual staring spot next to the jewelry. He was a traveling poet, or so he said. For over a year, he has stayed at the inn and tried to talk to me countless times, each time hoping that I will respond differently than the last time. It seemed to me that he was doing a lot less time traveling and a lot more time standing in my shop. "I own this store also, with Dad." I waited for him to return the greeting, which he did eventually.

"Hello, Rosetta," he said slowly. "It's nice to meet you." I waited for more, but it never came. I was a bit confused; all of the men and boys in Kardia are outspoken and can talk your ear off if you let them. However, he must not be from around this area, so I posed the question that the wasn't going to offer up the answer to voluntarily.

"I haven't seen you before. Where did you travel from?" I smiled, turning my back to Lukas in the process . He paused again before answering.

"I-uh-actually..." he seemed at a loss of what to say. This was very odd, I thought, considering that I had asked him a very simple question. How could he not know where he came from?

"Sharance." Mist said quickly. "He is my friend from Sharance. You know, the town with that big tree. He is just tired from the long trip, that's all. I'm sure he will come around in a bit." Mist smiled a wide, toothy smiled at Dad and I, one I was sure was entirely false, then started to turn around to leave. "Well, we must go now."

"Wait!" I cried. "You haven't told me your name yet." I sure hoped he knew the answer to this one. He didn't look dim-witted, but still..._Stop, I told myself. Don't be mean!_ I waited for him to respond.

"Raguna," he said at last. "I'll be staying at the farmhouse over...over..." he struggled to find the right direction. I started to wonder if he might not have been drinking.

"Oh," I said to cover up his confusion. "Well, in that case, you should know that I will be around to pick up any items that you leave in the shipping bin at precisely five o' clock each day, excepting holidays, of course. I will give you the correct amount of money you earned," I held up a finger. "Hold on." I dashed to the counter and found the list I wanted. "Her you go! There are all the items we take and their cost." He looked at it briefly, then smiled and folded it.

"Well, then, we really must be going," Mist said, this time opening the door to leave. "We will see you around." And both her and her mysterious friend walked out of the store, leaving Dad and I standing perplexed by the turnip seeds when our next customer walked through the doors, inquiring about the cost of pumpkin seeds and wondering how it could be that I was so distracted.

Raguna

Mist was gone, thank God! I breathed a sigh of relief and dumped the pile of things I had received from both the girl I mentioned and the Kardians: papers advertising stores, seeds tools, food, and a generous amount of money from Miss Bianca de Saint-Coquille, whom I had liked very much. She seemed kind enough, but wasn't so energetic like that one girl...what was her name? Rosa? Rosetta? I shook my head to clear my thoughts and found the bottle of wine that the barman (Emmett?) had given me. I uncorked it and drank, washing away all my already almost non-existent worries. Suddenly, the fact that I didn't remember much about my past and I needed to fit in wasn't important. I could tell that I was drifting into sleep, but I couldn't tell you when I finally did. But I can tell you when I woke up; it was when the knocking on my door began.


	2. An Invitation

Rosetta

"He was an odd one, was he not?" Jean asked me over the pot of soup boiling on the stove that night. He was wearing a bright white apron and periodically stirring the concoction while still managing to look over the sales, assets and conduct a conversation with his eighteen-year-old daughter Rosetta (me). I knew who he was taking about, the boy Mist had introduced to us in the store, Raguna, and I had been thinking about him all that evening.

"Indeed." I replied casually, setting plates on the table. In fact, my mind had been filled with swirling images of him ever since he had left earlier on that day. He had stammered through my questions, seeming unsure of his name and Mist had to tell us that he was from Sharance. It was as if he didn't know who he was. I wondered for not the first time if he was completely sober.

"Rosetta, would you help me with this?" her quiet father asked her, motioning with a wooden spoon to the soup in the pot. She quickly went over to dish it out, and told herself not to worry about him. He was a full-grown man after all, capable of caring for himself. Or was he?

Raguna

When I went to go open the door, there was a girl standing there. She wore a simple maid's uniform and had her hair tucked into her cap. Though she tried to hide it, I could tell that she was an elf; her ears rose in a point.

"Mister Raguna," she said quietly. "Miss Bianca de Saint-Coquille sent me to give you this letter." the slender maid said, handing me an envelope with gold leaf and what I took to be the de Saint-Coquille family crest stamped on it. I took it and thanked the girl, who curtsied and departed.

Inside, I opened the envelope and extracted a piece of cream-colored stationery with the same crest printed in the top left-hand corner. I read the loopy handwritten note. It said:

_Mister Raguna,_

_I would be honored if you were to attend dinner with my family tonight at the de Saint-Coquille manor. Mayor Godwin, his daughter, Felicity, and my cousins Max and Rosalind de Saint-Coquille will also be attending. There will be dancing afterward._

_I sincerely hope that you will honor us all with your presence._

_Yours,_

_Miss Bianca de Saint-Coquille_

I stared at the note for a minute before my still slightly intoxicated mind registered the meaning. I was going to a party at de Saint-Coquille manor, and I better look my best to impress a certain hostess named Bianca.


	3. A Ball at the de Saint-Coquilles'

Raguna

The air was filled with excitement when the maid who had delivered the letter led me to the ballroom. There were about a dozen people present, all chatting in small groups or pouring themselves drinks from colorful bottles. I noticed that more than some had blue-toned hair, which led me to believe that these were the cousins that were mentioned in the letter.

Immediately, Bianca rushed to me. "Welcome, Mister Raguna. It is a pleasure to have you here!" She grinned uncharacteristically and handed me a glass filled with a deep red liquid. Against my better judgment, I downed it in one and got another; my head was still pounding from the other wine I had drunk.

"'Tis a pleasure to be invited," I returned, smiling. Then she led me to a man and woman, both with bluish hair. She wore a lacy white dress and he wore a tuxedo. I felt very under-dressed all of a sudden, considering that I was still wearing the clothes I had arrived in. But then I reminded myself that I had no other clothes, so I didn't feel so bad. _It's not my fault!_ I thought.

"Raguna," Bianca was saying. "These are my cousins, Rosalind and Max, from Alvarna."

"Nice to meet you," all three of us said, exchanging handshakes, bows and curtsies. Then I met the mayor and his daughter, both of whom seemed quiet, but who welcomed me all the same.

"It was nice to meet you," I said, and then followed Bianca to a long table along one side of a wall. It was filled with all kinds of foods, from meats to cheese to wine. Jasper de Saint-Coquille was busily piling all kinds of delicacies onto his already overflowing plate, and didn't seem to notice as we walked up. I suspected that this was not the first serving he had eaten, as the buttons on his shirt seemed fit to burst more than usual. Bianca turned a light shade of pink and smiled.

"I apologize," she stated. "He takes being a gastronomist _very_ seriously. At times, it get a bit...embarassing." I waved aside his rotund shape.

"Never mind about him." I said. "I see some pudding over there that I'm very interested in."hen I served my self a bowl, grabbed another drink, and the rest is history.


End file.
